How do we rebrand Red Line Design, LLC, what started as a boutique interior design firm, into a brand synonymous with intimate events, creative exploration, and personal art by Sarah G. Stevenson? After initial attempts to try revising the current redlinedesign® logo, the look just felt too corporate. It didn’t speak to those familiar with her work as Sarah G. Stevenson and didn’t communicate what was special about the brand.

We worked to craft a visual identity that spoke on a personal level. We explored using handwriting instead of established type faces to tell people that this brand was about one person’s art. Our senior designer, Kelly Wallis, lent her steady hand in developing a wonderful cursive foundation for the logo. “When people see handwriting, it feels much more inviting and humble to them,” Kelly said. “People immediately recognize that this is not some big-box corporation.”

Sticking to Sarah’s pillars of personal exploration and creativity, we gave life to the “line” of redlinedesign®, allowing it to explore and roam freely across her new packaging and stationery. Along with a web and social update that put her art in the spotlight, Sarah now has a complete brand identity to carry her business into what looks to be a promising year: this is the first year her Create.Explore.Discover Art Retreat will feature multiple dates.

What seems like a two step process on paper was actually a lengthy, but highly rewarding strategic challenge in business rebrand. Whenever we work with clients we know personally, we want the result of our work to speak of that client the same way we would. In this case, our goal was a logo that reads “Redline Design” but says “Meet my good friend, Sarah.”

Check out the redlinedesign® website, where you can view Sarah’s photo and illustration collections and follow her blog for daily creative inspiration.

January 1st might have been eight days ago, but if you ask us, the New Year doesn’t begin until we survive the first week back to work. While we sip our third cup of coffee before 10am, many of our beloved clients are starting fresh this year with all new brands and logos to stand behind by the Stan Can Design™ team. Let’s take a look at some of our best rebrands from 2014.

Red Line Design, LLC

The Case: Red Line Design, LLC originally started as a boutique interior design firm for one Sarah G. Stevenson. As Sarah developed her business, she gained a network of followers devoted to her personal art blogging and creative newsletters that emphasized personal exploration. After the first of many successful Create.Explore.Discover. Art Retreats, Sarah wished to shift the focus of Red Line Design, LLC to art and creative exploration.

The Solution: A business that’s all about personal exploration deserves an extra personal logo. To convey the same sort of intimacy and humbling nature of Sarah’s work, Kelly Wallis hand-lettered an original wordmark for Red Line Design, LLC. Furthermore, the “line” of Red Line Design, LLC has a creative mind of its own. It wraps around, fills, and explores the space of various paper materials and packaging for the brand. “The result is a logo that reads ‘Red Line Design,’” said Stan Byers. “But really says ‘Meet my good friend, Sarah.”

Clark/Sullivan Construction

The Case: A collaborative team of competitors who enjoy working with people, Clark/Sullivan Construction were looking to shed the hard-bid construction company image that they wrongfully earned whilst wading through the construction industry’s recession issues. At the same time, owner B.J. Sullivan also is looking to transition his company to a shared endeavor amongst C/S leaders as he plans to retire.

The Solution: It was clear to us that the new Clark/Sullivan logo not only needed a vibrant and progressive look, but it also had to be something of an insignia to rally troops behind as the company transitions ownership. The result is a shape that exudes both the business purpose and mentality – on separate planes! From one angle, a building block conveys Clark/Sullivan’s mission to create facilities that communities can be proud of, while the upward pointing arrow from another angle denotes the positive and progressive impact that C/S works to achieve with their projects. It’s all done in an energetic Sparks green in a tribute to the city that their headquarters resides in. Their new website is on the way as well, so check back soon!

CWX Architects

The Case: CWX Architects is a young, Midtown-based architectural firm that continues to blossom under the leadership of owner and lead architect, Carlin Williams. Using innovative delivery methods and an eye for timeless design, the firm sought to call attention to their strengths while developing a brand that would help them gain work outside of Carlin’s established business connections.

The Solution: Of course, Stan Can Design is also a fan of timeless design, and so we set to work on a logo that conveyed this to CWX’s prospective clients. Hard, straight lines pay tribute to the history and craft of architectural design. Along with geometric shapes and an easily readable typeface, CWX now sports a fresh logo that is just enough old school and the perfect amount of new hotness.

Fifty South Virginia

The Case: You might not have heard of Fifty South Virginia yet, but you might have heard of the old post office in downtown Reno. Thanks to the efforts of developer and project manager, Bernie Carter, the old post office is now Fifty South Virginia, a wonderfully historic and reimagined business space that stands as Reno’s beacon of revival. Originally finished in 1934, the structure has been sympathetically renovated to not only maintain its original charms, but also to restore those that were lost over the years. The final step was a cohesive brand, logo, and website in order to market to prospective tenants.

The Solution: With a space full of so many special and historic insignias, designs, and symbols, there was no shortage of inspiration for Fifty South Virginia’s new look. We eventually narrowed it down to a classically patriotic shield that pays homage to a symbol used on buttons for one of the building’s marble walls. Speaking of walls, the green used as the logo color is actually the same pale green of the terracotta walls used on the outside of the building. Other than tribute, the shield has been slightly updated to be used in today’s marketing world and is now an easily stamp-able design that should last another 80 years. It doesn’t get much more timeless than that.

Ludmila CPA

The Case: It would have been easy for Ludmila Smith-Popper to establish her career on nothing more than her skill as a CPA. In 2005, she was the highest scoring CPA candidate in the State of Nevada and, within a short time, rose to partner of a Reno accounting firm. Instead, she established her success on fostering 1-on-1 business relationships with her clients and believing that hiring a CPA is always a positive experience, despite others’ reasons for doing so. It was clear that we needed to make this the center of conversation while crafting a strong brand image to allow her to continue expanding her client base, eventually venturing into different regional markets.

The Solution: Despite questions to do otherwise, we advised keeping Ludmila’s first name as the company name. It’s much more personal than the typical “Collins, Jones, Stevens” accounting firm model that we all seem to be a bit tired of. The use of all lower case was a conscious choice, working with the traditional typography to give off a friendly vibe. The plus symbol indicates a partnership with Ludmila herself, talks about accounting in its most simplest form, and seamlessly segues into their tagline, “Where success adds up.”

At Stan Can Design™ we make listening to clients our top priority. It’s important that the client acknowledges we understand their issues and desires and that we provide a personal experience for them.

However, often times what the client desires doesn’t exactly solve their dilemma. It takes our experience and knowledge to steer their ship in the right direction, and from there they’re free to reach their full potential as a business. That’s exactly what happened with our client, Hunter Compo

She runs Hunter & Company, an event planning and design business based in Lake Tahoe, California, owned by Hunter Compo. From corporate events to weddings, Hunter & Company can deliver a professional, detailed and timely event experience.

“I met Hunter at the Hunter & Company launch party at Truckee River Winery over this past summer,” said Kelly Wallis, designer at Stan Can Design™. “She expressed to me that she was unhappy with some previous logo and branding work, and we connected from there.”

Our design team used mood boards to pinpoint the feel that Hunter & Co.’s creative should exude. We designed one mood board based around what Hunter told us she wanted, and a separate mood board based on a direction we thought was best for her business. She immediately felt a connection with our advised look and feel.

Stan Can Design™ produced business cards, envelopes, stamps, an email signature, and all the other necessary branding materials for a successful event planning service.

Take a look below at some samples of our work for Hunter & Company. If you like what you see, visit hunterandcompanyevents.com or follow Hunter on Facebook to see just how much she likes her new brand!

For over a year, Stan Can Design™ has been working with Dr. David M. White, DDS branding his dentistry business. David is the kind of client everyone wants. He understands the value of a brand and he lets the designers do the designing and sticks to what he knows best, teeth and politics. This type of working relationship allowed us to create a brand that reflected David’s public and personal image and character, providing him with a logo and business system he was proud to say was his. It also helps that he has great taste.

His visual identity is based on David’s roots, here in Northern Nevada and his mission; to help fellow Nevadans maximize their full potential through providing Education, Health and Public Service.

“The moment I knew I had made a good investment in my business and myself was in Washington D.C.” said David.

While at the Dental Association Leadership Conference, David, Chairman of the Political Action Committee of the Nevada Dental Association, found himself mingling with lobbyists, congressmen and senators.

“I handed my business card to a fellow lobbyist, just as we were about to exchange salutations and he stopped, looked at the card and said “This is by far the most stunning (business) card I have seen from a dentist, or anyone, ever.”"

We designed the stationary set with the typefaces Copperplate and Gotham on Neehah Classic Laid, in Ivorystone to create a classic, balanced system. Adding just a touch of gold foil communicates the regard for craftsmanship and tiny details.

“The truth is — as PaperSpecsGallery.com points out – this tidy, carry-in-your-back-pocket printed portfolio was a great way for “stan can design” to showcase his design and advertising expertise as well as his approach to that work.” – PaperSpecs Gallery